- the executive summary;
- the report;
- commentaries to the report, from members of the East ofEngland Faiths Council.
The executive summary was lauched at Westminster Abbey on 21 July 2005.Itreveals that faith communities are contributing over £30millionin volunteer time every year to the people of the region.
The study, which looked in depth at faith groups in five areasofthe region — Harlow, King’s Lynn, Peterborough, Mid-Suffolk andSouthend-on-Sea — found that they were providing an enormous range ofservices from the “traditional” such as hospital visiting to the moreinnovative, including IT training and facilitating independent livingfor disabled or homeless people.
Worshipping communities from all the major faith traditions areinvolved in these projects, giving not only volunteer time, but alsopremises and, often, the costs of materials needed. Working inpartnership with other faith and secular bodies, reaching out to thewidest possible number of people is important. In particular, supportfor those who are vulnerable or in need is a vital driver forfaith-based projects. Eighty percent of those questioned did not limitany of their services to their own worshipping group, and only 2%limited all their projects in this way. On average, every faith groupinterviewed was offering some type of service to 70 people from itslocal community — projected across the region, this means that 180,000people benefit every week.
Almost every section of society — whether or not they form part of aworshipping community, of any faith or none — benefits from thepresence and work of faith groups within their community.
Major beneficiary groups are children (86% of respondents hadchild-focussed services) and the elderly (82%). Families under stress,one parent families, single people and others who may be disadvantagedor vulnerable (disabled people: 45%; those with mental healthdifficulties: 37%; or learning difficulties: 36%) are well represented.This targeting also reflects an anti-discrimination agenda amongst manyfaith groups, which is emphasised by the fact that other keybeneficiaries of projects are people from black and minority ethnicgroups (36% of projects work with these) and to a lesser extent fromgay and lesbian groups (15%).
The interest of faith communities in promoting both formal andinformal learning is endorsed by the statistics, with over 30% ofrespondents running projects designed for unemployed adults, and 22%for people seeking to improve their skills.
This study not only involved interviewing ministers and religiousleaders, researchers also spoke to non-faith organisations. Faithsoften work with public bodies such as local councils and health trusts,and with charities — about 50% of those interviewed said some of theirprojects were “partnered” in this way. Secular organisations find thisadds real value to what they are doing, for example, one person insocial services said: “Faith groups say things and provide serviceswhich statutory bodies can’t.”
The research was funded by the East of England Development Agencyand undertaken by the University of Cambridge in conjunction with theEast of England Faiths Council. It was launched at Westminster Abbey,and in a keynote speech David Rayner, Policy Adviser in theNeighbourhood Renewal Unit and Secretary to the Inner Cities ReligiousCouncil, said:
“Many of the great social movements and charities whichare part of everyday life were founded by people of faith. Nowadays, weare all aware of the active part played by faith groups in our society,but often without acknowledging it, so much are they taken for grantedas part of the fabric of life.We can see how faith communities are creating support structures forthe most vulnerable people: the young, the elderly, those withouthomes, jobs, or the skills needed to participate fully in a societyfrom which they have been marginalised. This response to the needs andills of our current world is driven by the most basic tenets of all themajor faith traditions, their essential belief in the importance ofservice to, and compassion for our fellow humans.”
Faith in the East of England was welcomed by speakers ChrisWhite, Deputy Leader of the East of England Regional Assembly; LordAhmed on behalf of the Muslim community; Lord Janner on behalf of theJewish community, and the Bishop of St Albans, the Rt. Revd.Christopher Herbert. All spoke of the vital importance in today’s worldof faiths not only engaging with their wider communities, but alsobuilding mutual trust by doing so.
The East of England Faiths Council was introduced to delegates atthe event by Andrew Lansley, MP for South Cambridgeshire, who spoke ofthe growth of the Council, which represents all the major faiths of theregion, and the breadth of its involvement with the regional agenda.
Press enquiries: Jenny Kartupelis / Lesley Turney, East of England Faiths Council, St John’s Innovation Centre, Cowley Road, Cambridge CB4 0WS Tel: 01223 421606 Email: eefc@cambcatalyst.co.uk